40k for 2004 sl500, opinions on price?

[spinedoc]

My cousin used to be a wholesale dealer and one of his old connections popped up with a 2004 SL500 with 60k on the clock, great condition and he wants 40k for it, he needs to liquidate the inventory of a new lot he just purchased.

Just curious, what do you guys think of the price?

[page62]

According to kbb.com, that's a screaming deal.

[Pete Geither]

If you don't buy it,,, let me know.

[spinedoc]

Anything I should look for? I'm hesitant due to the lack of warranty, but I'm sure the cheaper price will make up for it as well as signing up with warranty direct.

So any major things I should look for?

PS whats a realistic price to sell my old one at? 96 SL500 104k miles, good condition with a brand new trans.

[deanyel]

Other than general condition/service records two things to look for: 1) does it shift OK, and 2) wreck / paint work. You'll probably be shocked at the price to sell too - I'd say mid to high teens and that's if it's nice.

[lynns]

Originally Posted by spinedoc

2004 SL500 with 60k on the clock, great condition and he wants 40k for it

One of the places that I start is eBay. I look at what the "buy it now" price is on a 2003-2005 60K SL500. In this case there are only a couple of cars with mileage that is close to 60K. It appears high for a three year old car.
http://motors.listings.ebay.com/_W0QQsocmdZListingItemList?sofocus=pf&sbrftog=1&catref=C3&from=R2&socmd=ListingItemList&sofindtype=22&fcl=3&frpp=50&fstype=1&satitle=&sacat=6001%26catref%3DC6%26curcat%3Dtrue&fts=2&a39=1963&a41=10601&a38v1y=2003&a38v2y=2005&a10239=-24&a39705=-24&a10244=-24&alist=a39%2Ca41%2Ca38v1y%2Ca38v2y%2Ca10239%2Ca3801%2Ca85%2Ca10246%2Ca33512%2Ca10241%2Ca10244%2Ca3970 5&pfmode=1&reqtype=2&gcs=13&pfid=2473&pf_query=&floc=1&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=92606&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=8%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search

The other place that I would check is
http://www.cars.com/go/search/advanced_search.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&aff=national

This is the lowest price for a 2004 at Cars.com
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=22&paId=214350396&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=1500&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&recnum=227&leadExists=true&criteria=K-%7CE-ALL%7CM-_31_%7CG-10000000%7CH-%7CD-_292_%7CN-N%7CR-10000%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descending%7CQ-descending%7CY-_2004_%7CX-popular%7CZ-92606&aff=national

[jjrodger]

Here in the UK, the cheapest R230s are $55k (GBP30k) and that is for 2002 cars. So the price sounds amazing.

My brother had a 2004 SL500 which was great. Things to look for: electrical glitches, crash damage and water leaks.

As to the glitches, some of these cars just seem to be dud 'uns, especially the ones with very high spec (Keyless Go seems particularly problematic). I have represented three clients who have successfully rejected SL55 AMGs for continuing and unresolvable electrical malfunctions. You may need to check the records to see if this one is a dud.

Crash damage is obvious and speaks for itself. Likewise water leaks. The two probably go hand in hand. At the factory, the roof is installed using some kind of specialist jig: apparently it is all but impossible to do at the bodyshop after a bang. Some cars just seem to leak, whether they have had an accident or not.

Other than that, bear in mind that there is still some depreciation to go, namely $40k!

If it checks out, I'd snap it up.

What is the colour/interior?

[lynns]

Originally Posted by spinedoc

Anything I should look for?

See if you can get a MB VMI-Vehicle Master Inquiry on the car. Your friend should have a MB Service Manager type of connection to help you with this. Don't forget CarFax. You can get that yourself if necessary.

[Carlos Serrano]

That is a hell of a good price.
The MB dealer here is asking $30K for a 2000 SL500 with 56K on the clock,
$78K for a 2003 SL 500 with 49K on the clock, down the road to the next imports dealer $120,000 for a 2006 SL 65 AMG. $75,000 for a 2006 SL 55 AMG. The MB dealer will buy the cars from the import dealer and re-price them.

[dragoncoach]

Great price. I'm a little leary about the great price. There must be some reason it's only $40k. Miles are high but what the heck. Not sure, but are there any grey market SL's? I would definitey check for previous damage and conditon of the engine and tranny. Carfax is not always accurate if a repair has recently been done and not yet reported. Good luck, it sounds like a great deal.

[spinedoc]

I'm going to check it out today. He also has an 05 645i for only 50k, making my decision VERY hard. The 645i has more power and has 4 seats.

[page62]

Originally Posted by spinedoc

The 645i has more power and has 4 seats.

The 645i is also ugly, just like every other Bangle-butted Bimmer. Yuck!~

[elau]

I will be more concerned the car may come from NOLA with water damage.

[spinedoc]

Originally Posted by elau

I will be more concerned the car may come from NOLA with water damage.

No it's a clear title with a clear carfax. My indie is going to run the full service record on it.

I'm still up in the air. My current SL was great until 80k or so, then all sorts of things have (and are) going wrong with it, including a costly tranny. Without some kind of aftermarket warranty I think it's certain suicide to buy the SL.

[romansek]

This is what I found. Water damage will not show up on the carfax if the insurance is not involve.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/car/252456082.html